Category Archives: Labor party

Medical evacuation bill still alive with Phelps open to amendments – politics live

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Key crossbencher Kerryn Phelps indicates she would consider Labor’s changes to the medevac legislation. All the day’s events, live

The PMO has released the transcript of Scott Morrison’s doorstop this morning:

JOURNALIST: Prime minister, if you lose the medevac bill today, why should you not drive to Government House and call an election?

You may remember from Luke’s report yesterday, that David de Garis declined to answer how he found out about the AWU raid. Looks like shiz is about to get reeeal interesting in the federal court.

Justice Bromberg has ruled Michaelia Cash's former media adviser David De Garis will have to give evidence about who tipped him off that federal police were set to raid the AWU's offices. #auspol

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Stand by for Liberal fightback as Labor steals march in marginals

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Party will rally its base and harvest undecided voters by banging the drum on Labor’s tax measures

This weekend, I think it’s productive to take you into the world of Coalition MPs as they pack their bags anticipating the return of federal parliament next week.

The parliamentary weeks show the Morrison government at its most vulnerable because the Coalition no longer commands a majority in either chamber, but it’s not the resumption of parliament many MPs are fretting about.

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‘Beggars belief’: more endangered parrots exported from Australia

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Warren Entsch demands investigation after German convicted kidnapper boasts about new shipment

A government MP has said it “beggars belief” that more endangered Australian birds have been exported to a German organisation headed by a convicted kidnapper and extortionist, after a Guardian investigation revealed there had been multiple warnings that the birds could be sold to collectors at a huge profit.

Warren Entsch repeated calls for an independent investigation into how the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots was able to receive hundreds of rare and endangered birds from Australia, after its founder, Martin Guth, used a social media post to say more endangered species had arrived at its facilities in January.

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Warren Mundine picked by Scott Morrison to stand in marginal seat of Gilmore

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Indigenous leader and former Labor boss to be parachuted in as a Liberal in the NSW electorate held by retiring MP Ann Sudmalis

Indigenous leader Warren Mundine will be parachuted in to contest the marginal seat of Gilmore under a Scott Morrison-endorsed plan being considered by the New South Wales Liberal party executive.

On Tuesday the state executive voted to block the preselection of real-estate agent Grant Schultz, who had been picked by local members to contest the seat held by the retiring MP Ann Sudmalis.

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Australia too slow in considering Saudi teen’s asylum bid, rights group says

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Human Rights Watch says government should have acted with more urgency to help Rahaf al-Qunun

Human Rights Watch Australia has criticised the government’s handling of a Saudi teenager’s bid for asylum, after the 18-year-old was granted safe haven in Canada.

Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun fled from Kuwait to Thailand, saying she had been abused by her family and feared for her life if deported back home.

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‘I’ll eat my hat’: Tanya Plibersek trashes Liberals’ stand on female representation

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Deputy Labor leader says Liberals cannot use ‘merit’ argument, considering some of its ‘unimpressive blokes’

The Liberal party cannot fall back on the argument it preselects candidates on merit, given “some of the blokes” it counts among its parliamentary ranks, Tanya Plibersek has said.

Responding to frontbencher Sussan Ley’s push for the Liberal party to work towards a “sensible number” to improve its female representation and break ranks from the majority who remained opposed to quotas, Plibersek said it was beyond time this happened.

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